AIDS is defined as a disease where there is a severe loss of the body’s cellular immunity raising the risk of infection and cancer. Writer Essex Hemphill suffered from AIDS some of his best work is about what it is like to live with AIDS and about being a black gay man. One of his pieces is called “Commitments” it was written in 1992 three years before Hemphill died, from AIDS-related compilations. One might think that Hemphill was writing this poem about his life, and what would happen once he dies. In the poem the speaker or writer makes the reader feel saddened about his life around his family.
The speaker feels saddened around his family because he knows that he is dying and that he will be leaving his family soon. An example of this would be on line thirty-two, the speaker states “I am the invisible son,” (Hemphill 32). The speaker tells the reader that he will be invisible soon, which one would indicate that he is dying. One might think that he is dying from AIDS. Another indication that one might picture is a son that does not get attention because he is sick. “I am the invisible son,” is an example of the speaker being saddened around his his family the speaker knows he is dying and that he does not have a lot of time left, and soon he will be invisible (Hemphill 32).
In addition to the speaker being saddened around his family is in lines sixteen through eighteen the speaker states, “My arms are empty, or around the shoulders of unsuspecting aunts expecting to